1. Skip to content
  2. Skip to main menu
  3. Skip to more DW sites
HistoryChile

Chile after Pinochet: The search for the disappeared

28:36

This browser does not support the video element.

May 13, 2024

Under Augusto Pinochet's military dictatorship, thousands of Chileans disappeared without a trace, including the father and brother of Juan Eduardo Rojas-Vásquez. His quest to find out what happened to them led him to the Colonia Dignidad.

For 50 years, Juan Eduardo Rojas-Vásquez has been trying to find out what happened to his father and older brother. In September 1973, General Augusto Pinochet seized power in Chile in a violent coup. One month later, Juan's father and brother were arrested and never seen again. The family lived near the Colonia Dignidad, home to a pseudo-religious German sect founded by Paul Schäfer, who was later convicted of child sex abuse. He allowed the Chilean secret police to set up a detention and torture center on the grounds of the colony. Juan is convinced that his father and brother were murdered there, their bodies burned and buried. His father had been in a dispute with the landowner for whom he worked, while his brother was a member of the Communist Party - which was likely his death sentence. Now resident in Germany, Juan travels back to Chile in search of the truth about their disappearance.

Skip next section About the show

About the show

Close up — The Current Affairs Documentary

Our weekly half-hour program delivers in-depth reporting on topical political issues and newsworthy events. Revealing the story behind the stories, Close Up is informative, gripping and visually powerful.

Skip next section DW's Top Story

DW's Top Story

Skip next section More stories from DW